Masters Thesis

The Educational Aspirations of Salvadorans in the United States: A Qualitative Study of Barriers to Higher Education Participation and Attainment

For this study, the researcher sought to gain further insight into the higher education aspirations of the Salvadoran population living in the United States. Utilizing a qualitative, narrative inquiry research method, the researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 participants who are native born from El Salvador and have attended a two or four-year institutions in the United States, regardless of their legal status, and are located in urban regions of California. This study analyzed the Salvadoran population experienced and addressed the influence of these experiences on their pursuit of higher education degree. This study also addressed the research on Salvadoran higher education aspirations. The findings contained five pathways to higher education. The five pathways to higher education were (1) the influence of resettling in a new country on pursuing a higher education degree, (2) the financial impact on attending and pursuing a higher education degree, (3) effects of linguistic limitations in higher education, (4) the influence of support systems in higher education, and (5) discrimination in higher education. The findings were used to understand how to better support the pipeline of Salvadorans in higher education. Based on the results, three recommendations were made. The three recommendations consist of: (1) mentoring programs, (2) diverse cultural programs, and (3) student alliances.

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